Part of Your World
by Stella Luce 333
Summary: Alita is desperate to live on Earth, & makes a deal with XANA in order to do it. If she can get Jeremy to kiss her in three days, she can stay forever. But if she doesn't...the consequences will be dire…A retelling of The Little Mermaid with a Code Lyoko twist. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place at the end of Season 1, as an AU version of Code Earth/False Start.**

Alita's POV:

"Stay focused guys. There's still one Hornet nearby." Jeremy said. Ulrick, Yumi, & I were taking cover under a large tree stump in the Forest Region.

"We hear it. We just don't see it." Yumi said. The Hornet had the advantage in this area, with plenty of trees for cover…

"Yumi, get Alita to the tower. I'll see if I can draw its attention." Ulrick said, sprinting out from our cover. The Hornet emerged when it caught sight of Ulrick & began firing at him. Yumi & I took our chance to run to the tower.

A buzzing sound behind me told me that the Hornet had changed targets. It now had its sights set on Yumi & me.

I braced myself for the laser fire, but it never came. A quick glance behind me showed me that Yumi had turned & was holding her ground. She blocked the lasers before sending her fan flying towards her target. "Run, Alita!"

I ran as fast as I could to the tower, stepping inside. I hurried to the center of the platform, & rose up to the second level. A screen appeared, & I entered in my code.

"Tower deactivated." I announced. I glanced down, waiting for the bright white light to wash over everything.

"Return to the past now." Jeremy said. In one moment, I stood in the tower…

…In the next, I found myself sitting in the Ice Sector.

I took a moment to take in my surroundings. No monsters in sight, which was a good thing. XANA should be quiet, for a little while at least.

No friends made it very lonely.

Mentally, I checked the computer's clock. It was 4:10 in the morning. My friends were probably asleep.

"Alita?" Jeremy's voice startled me out of my thoughts.

"Jeremy." I said, smiling. In my mind's eye, I connected to the computer in his dorm. "You should be asleep. It's late." I said, even though I was glad to have the company.

"I can't sleep. Too much adrenaline in my system from the XANA attack. Want to work on the materialization program? There's a way tower not too far from you."

"Ok, Jeremy. I'm on my way." I said, standing.

* * *

 _XANA watched the young girl as she walked to the tower. Her friend was getting close to figuring out materialization, despite XANA's best efforts to thwart them. Alita's amnesia after the supercomputer was shut down was unexpected, but it helped keep her in her place. Now that she's made contact with the outside world…if she discovered her true identity, her true legacy, it would be much more difficult for XANA to achieve his goals._

 _As XANA watched, an idea began to form._

 _Perhaps there was a way to keep Alita in his grasp once & for all…_

* * *

 **Tomorrow (June 11th) marks 10 years since I joined this site! I've written a much longer thank you post over on Tumblr, but I want to take a moment to thank the most important people who have supported me these past 10 years…**

 **You. You, my readers, have been so kind to me! Your support over the years means so much to me, & I am thrilled that you continue to support me.**

 **Now, on with the story…This chapter is a bit on the short side, but I think it works well as a prologue…as well as a hint of things to come…**

 **Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Alita's POV:

"Alita?" I was patrolling the Mountain Sector when Jeremy called.

"Jeremy!" I dropped into a sitting position, connecting to his computer screen in my mind's eye. Yumi stood next to him, waving.

"How's everything on Lyoko?" Yumi asked.

"It's quiet. No sign of XANA or any of his monsters." I reported. There was a knock at Jeremy's door. Yumi & Jeremy blocked the screen for a moment, & then stepped aside to reveal Ulrick had arrived.

"I thought you had practice today?" Yumi asked him after he greeted us.

"We did, but Jim was teaching a tennis class today, & one of the students managed to hit the ball pretty hard between Jim's legs." Ulrick said, trying not to laugh. "He's not really up to coaching at the moment." He fell onto Jeremy's bed, laughing.

"Is Odd coming?" Jeremy asked after Ulrick pulled himself together. "We're supposed to work on our science report due next week."

"I don't think so. He snuck out to take Kiwi to the dog park. Supposedly, Kiwi has a girlfriend. A cute little pup named Penny."

"Kiwi has a girlfriend?" Yumi asked, raising an eye brow.

"No, but Od certainly has his eyes on Penny's owner." Ulrick said. We all shared a laugh at that.

It was tough, sometimes. Jeremy would sometimes call me while he did his home work, & the others would often stop by, & I appreciate that they were willing to include me in their normal lives as much as they cold, but…

Seeing their world through only a screen made me feel even lonelier. I longed for the chance to be part of their world…

Eventually, Jeremy & Ulrick went to dinner to meet up with Od. Yumi had to go home to her parents. I mentally closed the connection, & stood. Time to resume my patrol.

Alone.

* * *

It's going to work…It's going to work…I watched the screen in the way tower excitedly.

No, it's not. The data loss was too rapid. The materialization test came back negative…again.

"I just don't understand what the problem is!" Jeremy said, frustrated. He rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses.

"It's all right, Jeremy." I said. "We'll figure it out." A quick glance showed me that it was nearly midnight. "It's late. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I'm not…tired." Jeremy said, around a huge yawn.

"It's all right. It's not the end of the world if I stay here a little longer." I said, with a sincerity that I didn't quite feel.

Jeremy yawned again. "All right, I guess I can sleep on it. Good night, Alita."

"Good night." I said as Jeremy disconnected.

It was a shame virtual beings couldn't sleep. I floated down to the first level of the tower, & exited back into the Desert Sector, where I had been patrolling when Jeremy called after he had finished dinner.

I had only walked a little ways when I noticed two Krabs coming from the path in front of me. I turned to go back the way I came, only to find a Megatank was following behind me. I glanced to either side, looking for another way off the plateau. There were paths to my left & right, but each path had a Blok heading straight towards me.

I was trapped.

I started to call out for Jeremy, but the Krab fired a laser at my feet. A warning shot…?

Why would XANA's monsters fire a warning shot at me? They had me surrounded. This was XANA's chance to get rid of me once & for all…What were they waiting for? Had they fired because I had called for help?

"What do you want from me?" I asked. One of the Krabs made a swiping motion with its leg. I stared at it, trying to figure out what that meant. From behind the Megatank gave me a gentle nudge, just enough to make me take a couple steps forward to keep my balance.

"…You want me to follow you?" I asked. I must have guessed correctly because the Krabs turned & began to walk back the way they came. With another nudge from the Megatank, it seemed like I had no choice.

I followed.

* * *

 **Next time, XANA will offer Alita a deal…but will she really have much choice in the matter?**

 **Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Alita's POV:

I felt the pulsations under my feet as I walked. XANA was awake.

To my surprise, my captors led me to the activated tower. Outside, an assortment of XANA's monsters waited. It was hard to tell how many there were, but it was many more than I would be able to fight on my own. At the tower's entrance, the Krabs stepped aside. I was still surrounded on all sides, but there was a clear path to enter the tower.

Had XANA's monsters turned on him? But if so, why hadn't they let me call for help?

The monsters made no effort to stop me as I entered the tower. I rose to the second platform, & was about to approach the screen when a voice spoke.

"Hello, Alita." It was Jeremy's voice.

"Jeremy?" I asked, surprised. As he moved into the light, I noticed it wasn't Jeremy at all. His hair stood on end, his hands were like claws, & his eyes were completely blank. It wasn't Jeremy at all.

"XANA." I said. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk to you." XANA said. "You've been working on a materialization program for a while. It's very good, for a couple of amateurs. You're missing some very key elements, if you want it to work. I have access to much more processing power. I can fix your little program."

"Why would you do that?" I asked, suspicious.

"I was originally designed to destroy a dangerous, top secret military project. As I developed, I decided to do more for Earth. My new directive is to try to save the Earth…from the idiotic humans themselves."

"You tried to crash a bus into a chemical plant." I said. That was only one of the many attacks XANA had launched on Earth.

"Chemical plants are dangerous. Renewable energy sources are much more sustainable."

"My friends were on that bus."

"Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good." XANA said. "But I'm not here to discuss philosophy. I'm here to make you a deal. I even chose this form so that you & I could speak, face to face."

"I'm not interested in any deal you could offer." I said as I turned to leave.

"That's a shame. My monsters outside will just have to destroy you. Don't think about running to any other sectors. I know exactly which towers are connected to this one. I have armies waiting outside each of them. I have them programmed to attack you on sight…or you can listen to the offer that I have prepared. I think we can come to an understanding.

I weighed my options. Slowly, I turned back to face XANA.

"I'm willing to fix your materialization program, & let you go to Earth. But you must prove that you belong there. I'll give you three days on Earth, & all you'll need to do is get Jeremy to prove that he loves you with a kiss."

"A kiss?" I asked.

"Not just any kiss. A kiss of true love…just like on that Grantham Chateau show that you enjoy watching."

Great. XANA had access to my browsing history.

"If you can get Jeremy to kiss you before sunset on the third day, you can stay on Earth permanently. However, if you can't, then you must return to Lyoko, & you will spend the rest of your life on Lyoko with me." XANA paused, allowing me time to consider his terms.

XANA's offer seemed too good to be true…but it was ether that, or face his army waiting for me outside the tower.

I remembered when Jeremy was stuck in limbo after attempting to come to Lyoko. He loved me. I loved him. Getting him to kiss me wouldn't be so difficult…would it?

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"No catch…although we do need to discuss payment. Sending you to Earth will not be easy. I expect to get something in exchange. What I want is…your voice."

"My voce?" I asked. "Without my voice, how would I be able to live on Earth?"

"True lovers don't need words to express their love. There are plenty of other ways to do that. Besides, girls on Earth are expected to be quiet & withdrawn. Talking too much sends boys running away."

I hesitated.

"If you're able to succeed, I'll return your voice to you. Your friends will never even have to know about our deal."

Between us, in the middle of the platform, a screen appeared. Instead of the usual programs, a text box filled the entre screen. Text scrolled down, faster than I could read it, but it seemed like XANA was putting the deal into writing. In large print, at the end, was a simple question.

 _Do you accept these terms & conditions?_

I had two options. _Yes_ or _No_.

"If you want to cross this bridge, then you must pay the toll." XANA said. "Time to make your choice. Don't you want to live on Earth, more than anything else?"

My hand hovered over the screen. I was tempted by XANA's offer…& I knew his monsters would destroy me if I turned it down, but…I could do this. I knew how Jeremy felt about me. It would be easy to get him to kiss me…& then we could shut down the supercomputer forever. I didn't fully trust XANA, but my friends & I were smart enough to outwit him.

This might be how we saved the world from XANA…for good.

Taking a deep breath, I made my choice.

* * *

 **Looks like Alita has made her decision…but how about you? If you were in Alita's place, would you take XANA's offer?**

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Jeremy was woken by the sound of urgent beeping coming from his computer. He got up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, & put on his glasses. He blinked a few times as he stared at the screen, trying to make sense of what he was seeing even though he was still half asleep. Why was a test of the materialization program running at this hour?_

 _A shot of adrenaline ran through him, waking him fully. The materialization was in its final preparatory stage. This was where he was stuck, the data was lost rapidly at this point…but this time, it wasn't. The results came back positive!_

 _As he reached for the mouse to close the test, he was tempted to call Alita & tell her the good news. But as he tried to close the program, he was met with an error message. The program could not be shut down at this time. He & Alita has designed this condition, even adding layers of protection so that XANA couldn't hack into it & stop Alita from making the big jump. The program could not be stopped._

 _This wasn't a test. This was real._

 _He grabbed his cell phone & called Od, who had obviously been fast asleep._

" _It's me." Jeremy said. "Wake Ulrick. Call Yumi. The matrelztn program…I'm not sure how, but it works. Alita's coming…right now. Meet me at the factory."_

* * *

Alita's POV:

I felt…strange…

I could hear somebody approaching. "…She's here at last." a voice said. I knew that voice. It was Jeremy.

I opened my eyes, slowly. There he was, right in front of me. Yumi, Ulrick, & Od were clustered around the scanner as well.

"Welcome to Earth." Jeremy said. They cheered as I opened my eyes. It was so good to see them!

"Alita!" Jeremy reached down, & held out his hand. I accepted it & he helped me to my feet. Once I was standing, I threw my arms around him in a big hug, to help me find my balance…but also because I was so happy to see him.

"I'm so happy to see you! I've been waiting for this day for so long! I can't believe I'm finally…" I said…or I tried to, at least. No sound came out. I placed my hand on my throat, as I remembered my deal with XANA.

"Alita?" Jeremy asked, gently. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. Despite my voice being gone, everything else seemed to be ok.

"Can you speak?"

Slowly, I shook my head no.

* * *

We rode up in the elevator one level. So this is what the super computer looked like from the outside…

"I'm just not sure how this happened." Jeremy said, taking his seat at the computer. "I mean, I'm really glad it did, but the program wasn't working when I went to bed tonight. We still had a long way to go." Jeremy kept talking, mostly describing the overall theory of materialization, but I tuned him out. Something else had caught my eye.

The holographic map of Lyoko. It had been my whole world, until recently, & standing here made it seem so small…I felt an unexpected pang of homesickness. I tried to reach out & touch it, but my hand passed right through the hologram.

If I was successful, once we defeated XANA, we have to shut it down. I would never see Lyoko again.

"…Alita? Are you still with us?" Ulrick asked.

"EARTH TO ALITA!" Od yelled. I jumped as I turned back to my friends. I pointed a finger at myself, & then tapped my ear a few times before pointing at Od. _I can still hear you._

"Od, she's lost her voice, not her hearing." Jeremy said.

"Lack of voice aside, we still have some big problems." Ulrick said. "She needs a place to stay, especially since enrolling her in Kadic might take months."

"I can talk to my parents. They might let her stay for a few days." Yumi said.

"I might be able to modify the enrollment data, & make it look like she applied months ago, but we'd need to convince the principal that her paperwork got lost in the shuffle, or something."

"Leave it to me, Einstein." Od said. "We can say she's my cousin. I can convince Mr. Delmas to look the other way."

"Speaking of school, I need to sneak back home to finish getting ready." Yumi said.

"Right. Don't want to miss breakfast!" Od said as he headed for the elevator.

"Can you guys make excuses for me? Alita & I have a lot of work to do, if you don't mind staying here a while?" Jeremy said, directing the question to me. I shook my head. I didn't mind at all.

Maybe Jeremy just wanted to wait until we were alone to kiss me!

* * *

He was not waiting until we were alone to kiss me.

I still enjoyed spending time alone with him, but Jeremy was very focused on his work. He ran a few diagnostic scans of me, of the scanners, of every part of the super computer that was connected to bringing me here, but they all came back as normal.

However XANA had taken my voice, he had covered his tracks completely…

Jeremy had even asked me if I knew how I had gotten here, & since I wasn't sure how to offer an explanation in mime, I just shrugged my shoulders. He seemed to accept that for an answer, but I felt guilty for lying to him.

The others came back with food around lunch time, but otherwise I wasn't really aware of how much time had passed until Yumi came to get me. She had called her parents, & told them I was her pen pal who had surprised her with a visit. They were ok with me staying with them, & I was about to meet them at dinner. Jeremy opted to stay at the Factory a little while longer, so Yumi & I headed out on our own, & I got my first look at the world outside of the Factory.

"Have you guys been working all day?" Yumi asked. I nodded. Earth was beautiful. It was almost exactly the way I pictured it, but even better, because it was _real._

Yumi smiled. "I'm glad that this is your first view of our world. Everything's so much prettier at sunset."

It was very pretty...but I couldn't help but remember that I only had two more sunsets to prove that I belonged here.

* * *

 **One day down, two more to go! Next time, Alita steps up her efforts to get her kiss…but what will her friends think when they find out the truth?**

 ** ** **Please review!******


	5. Chapter 5

Alita's POV:

I had to tell my friends the truth.

Yumi had given me a note book on our way home, so that I could communicate without having to act everything out. She had lent me some pajamas, & as I waited for her to finish her bath, I wrote & rewrote my confession. It was hard to find the right words. I didn't want her to get mad, but I only had two days left. If I was going to do this, I would need her help.

Thankfully, I had managed to settle on a final version just as Yumi entered the bedroom. "Ok, since it's your first night here, you can take the bed."

I stood up, took a deep breath, & held out my note book.

"No, I insist." she said.

I shook my head, & held out the note book again. _That's not what I'm trying to say._

This time she took it, & sat down on her bed. I sat down next to her & waited for her reaction.

"You _what?_ " she asked. I waved my hand in a circular motion. _Keep reading._

"First of all, you don't need to prove yourself to belong here. That's not how our world works. You belong here because you exist. Even when you were on Lyoko, you still belonged here because this is where you wanted to be." I smiled at that.

"Now, about the deal…I can't help but think that this is one of XANA's tricks. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, he wanted you to come here." She thought for a moment.

"I think we'll need to tell Ulrick & Od about this tomorrow. Jeremy loves you, but he's not super romantic. We'll need to come up with a plan."

* * *

"Well, Alita, what did you think?" Ulrick asked me the next day. I had just finished my first class at Kadic Academy. It had been a history class, & while I would have felt more at ease if it were a computer class, it was still exciting & wonderful.

 _ _I really like history._ _I wrote. __But you gotta to admit, you fight a lot here. There are wars all the time.__

The others glanced at each other, uneasily. "You see, Alita…um…well…the human world…" Ulrick faltered, unsure of what to say.

"It's a mess." Od said simply. Ulrick & Od hadn't been too happy when I confessed to them about my deal with XANA, but they were willing to help. I was grateful for that.

"You know, we should celebrate tonight." Yumi suggested as she walked with us to our next class.

"I don't know. I kinda want to go to the factory." Jeremy said. "Alita can't go without her voce forever."

"Oh come on, Jeremy. The fact that Alita is even here is a big achievement." Od said. "You can skip work for just one night."

"Yeah, let's take Alita to a proper dinner." Ulrick said. "We can sneak into town, & show her what Earth is really like."

"Sounds like fun." Yumi said as she broke away to go to her next class. "We'll figure out the details at lunch." As she turned away, we locked eyes for a moment, & she winked.

I didn't know what was going on, but it must be a part of the plan to get Jeremy to kiss me…

* * *

Yumi had texted me after the final class of the day. The plan was for the rest of my friends to be suddenly unavailable for dinner tonight…leaving Jeremy & me to go out on our own.

It was awkward, at first…Nether one of us seemed to know what say or do, now that we were spending time together without a computer screen between us. Eventually, I wrote down a theory for a program, & we passed the note book back & forth, writing a program on paper. It was just like all the other times we had spent together, but better, because Jeremy was right here next to me.

We left the café, & I noticed that the sun had already set. I only had one more day…

But, if everything went well, that should be more than enough time…

We were walking along, taking the long way back to Yumi's, when I felt a strange feeling come over me.

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked. I nodded, but I must have still looked puzzled, because Jeremy went on to explain. "You shivered. It's how your body reacts to the cold." He thought for a moment. "We should probably get you a jacket…"

I waved my hand to stop him. I opened my note book to a clean page. _I'm fine. I like feeling a little chilly. I didn't have that type of experience on Lyoko._

"Yeah, Lyoko only let you see & hear. You have all five senses now." Jeremy said. He plucked a flower from a nearby bush & gave to me. "Smell this."

I breathed in the scent deeply, & smiled. It was wonderful to be alive…

As we walked along, I saw something strange. It looked like a scanner. I tugged on Jeremy's sleeve, & pointed at it. _What's that?_

"It's a photo booth. Come on, I'll show you." He took my hand as we went inside, & took a series of silly pictures, which printed out for us. We each took a strip.

We took a detour through the park, & we found ourselves suddenly being followed by a street musician with a violin. Even as we quickened our pace, the musician kept up.

"Excuse me for just a second." Jeremy said, walking back to speak with the musician. After they spoke, Jeremy gave him some money, & then walked back over to me.

"Watch this." he said, & we sat down on a bench, watching the street musician walk away. We herd him begin to play again, but this time a very embarrassed Yumi & Ulrick were being followed. Od ran off, laughing hysterically at the turn of events.

"Seems like the others were free tonight after all." Jeremy commented with a laugh. "I think we've been set up."

Oh no, he _knew_. He knew what I had done, he knew how I gotten here, what if he doesn't like me anymore, what if he refused to kiss me, dooming me to an eternity on Lyoko?

"Od's idea of a practical joke, I guess…" Jeremy said. I let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I mean, I was going to tell him the truth…once this was all over…

We slid a little closer together on the bench. "I had a really good time tonight." Jeremy said. I nodded, to let him know that I felt the same. We moved in a little closer, our heads almost touching.

"Alita, I…um, did you…I mean, can we…uh…" Jeremy couldn't seem to phrase his question, but that was ok. I knew what he was asking. He wanted to kiss me, & I wanted to kiss him too.

I nodded. This was it! The moment I had been waiting for. We moved in close, our lips almost touching…

…Suddenly, there was a crack above our heads, followed by a scream as something big fell behind us. Jeremy & I jumped to our feet, with Jeremy standing slightly in front, protecting me.

Od was lying on the ground, with a large tree branch beside him. He had fallen out of the tree above us. His camera phone was still clutched in his hand.

"Od?! What were you dong up there?" Jeremy asked, blushing. My own cheeks felt hot, as well…

"Um…bird watching?" Od said. Yumi & Ulrick emerged from their hiding spots nearby. They must have slipped away from the musician.

Jeremy didn't believe him. He turned to me. "I guess, uh…It…It's getting kind of late…We...We should probably walk you girls home…" He was so embarrassed that he had difficulty looking me in the eye.

I nodded, sadly.

I had less than 24 hours to get that kiss…or I would have to go back to Lyoko…

Forever.

* * *

 **Alita's task is about to get a lot more difficult…XANA's not gonna go down without a fight…**

 **Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Alita's POV:

I was just going to have to do it.

Last night, Yumi dug out an old watch, & set an alarm to go off at sunset. I would have to let go of any romantic notions & just kiss him, the sooner the better.

I was just going to walk right up to Jeremy, & kiss him first thing in the morning. With any luck, he'd kiss me back, & that would satisfy the bargain I made with XANA. It was the perfect plan…if I hadn't overslept that morning.

I liked sleep. I probably would have slept all day if Yumi hadn't shaken me a little to wake me up…

The morning classes came & went. Now, as we ate lunch, I knew this was my opportunity. We gathered up our trash as we finished eating, & headed out to the courtyard to enjoy our break before our afternoon classes. The others were walking slightly ahead of us, so I gathered my courage...I reached out to take Jeremy's hand.

"Everything ok, Alita?" Jeremy asked. I smiled. I leaned in close…

"Jeremy, STOP!" I froze. That was _my_ voice…but I hadn't spoken. I turned to my right to see myself, standing there in front of us.

Yumi, Ulrick, & Od seemed just as stunned as Jeremy & I were.

"What…" Jeremy trailed off, but we were all thinking the same thing. He dropped my hand.

"Jeremy, listen. I'm the real Alita. She's an imposter. She's XANA!" the other Alita said. I shook my head no & tapped my chest. _I am_ _the real Alita._

"XANA held me captive." Fake Alita said. "He used our materialization program to send a clone to Earth, to make you think she was me!" She took his hand, & I saw a change come over Jeremy. "I used the same program to get out. I'm here on Earth with you, at long last."

"Hold on a minute." Yumi said. "Why should we believe you?"

"Because she's Alita!" Jeremy said. I shook my head no. _I am Alita!_ _She's lying!_

"Because XANA tried to materlize strings of data instead of an actual person, he made one vital mistake. He couldn't give his creation my voice."

I felt my blood run cold. Yumi had been right from the start. This had been one of XANA's tricks all along…

I tried to reach out, take Jeremy's hand…but he pulled it away. "I believe you." he said, to the other Alita. I looked to my friends. They seemed unsure. Even Yumi looked like she had doubts.

"What I believe is that two Alitas in one courtyard is about to attract some unwanted attention." Od said. "The last thing we need right now is for Jim to see this."

"He's right." Ulrick said. "Let's take them both to the Factory. We can sort it out there."

* * *

When we got to the Factory, Ulrick & Od led me over to part of the factory floor, while Yumi & Jeremy took the other Alita down to the lab. I sat down, trying to make myself look as innocent as possible. They stood a little ways away, talking softly, looking my way every so often. I wanted them to trust me.

I needed them to trust me.

Sunlight streamed through a window, high overhead. It was like it was mocking me, as if it knew I only had until sunset to complete my end of the bargain…

"Alita?" I startled at the sound of my name. I hadn't realized Yumi had come back upstairs. I stood as she walked over, Ulrick & Od not far behind her, & gave me my note book. "I need to ask you something."

I nodded my understanding.

"What's my brother's name?"

I thought for a moment, & scribbled my answer. _Hiroki._

"That's right." Yumi said, smiling.

"You have a brother?" Od asked.

"He's not old enough for Kadic yet. He'll start next year."

"How does Alita know about him but we don't?" Ulrick asked.

"You guys remember that time XANA captured me on Lyoko? It freaked me out more than I let on. I couldn't sleep, & I didn't want to wake any of you up, so I snuck over to the Factory to talk to Alita." Yumi admitted. "I just asked the same question to the other Alita downstairs. She said I didn't have a brother…which means this is the real Alita."

I smiled. Yumi believed me!

"Jeremy seems pretty convinced the other Alita is the real one." Ulrick pointed out. I snapped my fingers to get their attention, & pointed to my eyes.

"You're right. It's almost like he's in a trance. He started acting weird almost the second the other one showed up."

"Well, if XANA's not gonna play by the rules, neither will we." Od declared. "Ulrick & I will distract Jeremy & the Other Alita. Think you can figure out how to get your voice back?"

I wasn't completely sure I could do it, but it's not like I had any other ideas…

I nodded my head.

 _Let's do this._

* * *

 **Next time, Alita's final moments before her deal with XANA expires! Will she be able to get her kiss in the nick of time? Or will she have to face the consequences?**

 **Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Yumi's POV:

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone buzzed with a text message. Alita had been working for hours...

I stood, stretched, & walked over to where Alita was working. "Ulrick said they're heading back. Any luck?"

Alita nodded & scribbled her response in her notebook. _I think so. I just need to use the scanner to run my program._

"Then let's go. We're only going to get one chance at this." I glanced back at my phone. "Use the ladder, not the elevator. Ulrick says they're here.

Alita disappeared down to the scanners in the nick of time. As soon as she dropped out of sight, the elevator doors opened.

"Yumi?" Jeremy asked, confused. "What are you doing down here? Why aren't you watching the impostor?"

"Jeremy, it's not what you think." I protested.

"Really?" the Other Alita asked. "Because I think you're letting her get away."

I had to buy Alita enough time to run her program. "Oh?" I said, simply.

"The only reason I can think of for you to let the impostor go is if you are also an impostor…yourself…" The Other Alita faltered over the last word. Her voice no longer sounded exactly like Alita's. The boys, who had been standing beside the Other Alita, now each grabbed one of her arms, holding her still. From behind them, the elevator doors opened.

"…Jeremy?" Alita asked. Her voice was back! It had worked!

"…Alita?" Jeremy asked. "That's…You're really you, aren't you?"

"I am." Alita ran into his arms, embracing him. "I have so much to tell you, but there's not much time. I need you to kiss me."

"…What?"

"I can't explain right now, but if you love me, if you want me to stay here on Earth with you, I need you to kiss me. Please before it's…"

"Too late." The Other Alita said as my watch started beeping.

Sunset.

It was over.

XANA Alita shrugged off Ulrick & Od's grasp, & yanked Alita away from Jeremy's arms.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked, very confused.

"XANA offered Alita a chance to come to Earth, without her voice, for three days." I said. "But her time is up. She has to go back to Lyoko forever."

"Is that what she told you?" XANA Alita asked with a laugh. "Oh, Alita…You really should have read those terms & conditions before agreeing to them. You're not just going back to Lyoko… _You're mine._ "

XANA Alita turned into nothing more than black smoke, & engulfed Alita. Alita struggled…but how do you repel smoke?

She eventually stopped struggling, & looked us all in the eye.

XANA's symbol was clearly visible in her eyes. She was under XANA's control now.

With the wave of her arm, she screeched, & released a wave of electric energy. She then turned & walked back to the elevator.

We were knocked off our feet, dazed. After a moment, we all slowly began to get up.

"So…we're going to go after her, right?" Od asked. Jeremy nodded.

"Head to the scanners."

* * *

"That…is a lot of monsters." Od commented. We were in the Forest Sector, hidden among the roots of a large tree. XANA knew we weren't letting Alita go without a fight. He had summoned almost every single one of his monsters…with Alita right in the center.

"Don't worry guys. I've been working on something that just might help." Jeremy said. "Ugh. No…no, no, no, no, no! Stop!"

"Something wrong, Jeremy?" I asked.

"I inserted the wrong CD. Instead of your upgrades, it was Od's stupid music video. Sorry guys, looks like you'll have to handle this one on your own."

"You made a video?" Ulrick asked Od.

"Yeah. It's pretty good, too." he said.

"What's the title?"

"BREAK BREAK BREAK DANCE! AH!" Od was cut off by a shot from one of the Hornets.

The battle had begun.

We ran out from our cover & attacked. We had no plan except to cut through this wall of monsters & rescue Alita. We fought hard, but there were just too many of them for us to handle. Jeremy kept reminding us about our life points, to be careful…but we all soon found ourselves down to our last few life points.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Od said as a Blok froze his legs.

"We're not gonna make it!" I cried out. Some Hornets flew over my head, & I blocked their lasers with my fans.

"Jeremy, we could really use some sort of brilliant idea right about now." Ulrick said, fending off a horde of Kankrelats.

"Yeah, I know, I just…"Jeremy trailed off. "What is that thing? Are you guys seeing this? Some kind of major energy reading, rising from the Digital Sea?"

There was a large, white ball of energy floating over to the platform. It easily flew over the monsters, absorbing XANA Alita into it.

There was a big blast of pure white light. I opened my eyes to find that we were still on Lyoko…but the monsters were gone. The blast had taken out everything…except for us.

"What _is_ that thing?" Ulrick asked.

"I don't know, but it sure packs a punch." Od said.

The ball hovered for a moment. It moved away, leaving Alita lying on the ground. We rushed to her side as the energy ball floated away, back to the Digital Sea.

"Alita?" I shook her a little, trying to revive her. Alita opened her eyes, which were back to their normal green.

"Get Alita to a tower." Jeremy said as we helped her to her feet. "She needs to recover her life points."

* * *

 **Next time, our final chapter! We've gone pretty far from the canon…so now it's time to try to tie this back to the canon timeline…**

 **Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Alita's POV:

The Return trip sent us back to just before I made my deal with XANA. My friends were skipping class to have an emergency meeting at the Factory. I knelt in the way tower in the Forest Sector. Once more, I was seeing their world only through a screen.

"XANA has done some major damage to our matrelztn program." Jeremy said. "It's gonna set us back, but we'll keep working on it."

"I'm more concerned about that white orb." Ulrick said. "How do we know it's really on our side?"

"You saw what it did!" Od said. "That blast could've easily taken us out, but we were still standing once all of XANA's monsters had fallen! Of course it's on our side!"

"But why now?" Yumi wondered aloud. "We've been fighting XANA for months. If this orb is really on our side, why would it wait until now to show itself?"

I tuned out as my friends kept speculating. It was time for their history class right now, the first class I had ever attended. I might not ever get the chance to go back.

Now that I've been to Earth, now that I know what living in the real world is like…Lyoko felt even lonelier than usual…

"What's this?" Jeremy asked, & I tuned back into the conversation. A small message window had popped up.

 _Take good care of my little girl. –Franz Hopper_

"Who's Franz Hopper?" Ulrick asked, but there were more pressing issues to address.

"Something's messing with the matrelztn program!" Jeremy said. It had popped open in a new window.

Jeremy started to fight it, trying to stop the program. I looked at the calculations with interest. Jeremy & I had never thought about it this way…

"Jeremy, wait!" I said. "I don't know what's going on, but these numbers make sense. It's almost as if something…or someone…is fixing the program."

A test scan was running, & I held my breath to see the results.

It was positive.

"It works." I said, barely able to believe it.

Suddenly, my screen closed itself. I felt myself lift off the platform, & I knew I was headed back to Earth!

That's when I felt something grab my leg.

It felt like an ice cold hand was gripping my ankle, trying to keep me on Lyoko. XANA had figured out that I was leaving, & was trying to keep me trapped here.

I tried to shake him off, but it was no use. I was floating in mid air, caught between two worlds. There wasn't much I could do.

I felt a warm presence, similar to what I had felt when the orb had saved me from XANA. There was a sharp pain in my ankle, but then the icy hand released me. I floated to the top of the tower, & I knew that I was leaving Lyoko.

"She's here at last." Jeremy said. I smiled as I opened my eyes. I was lying down, curled up in one of the scanners. My friends stood over me. They helped me to my feet.

"Jeremy?" I said, testing my voice. It was still there.

Of course, we would soon find out that this was not the end of our battle with XANA. XANA still had more tricks to play. We would soon discover an old home in the woods, which would give us many clues about the mysterious Franz Hopper...as well as my own past...

But, for now, I was simply happy to be back on Earth, with my friends.

I wrapped my arms around Jeremy as he whispered in my ear.

"Welcome to Earth."

* * *

 **When I started this story back over the summer, I didn't think I would still be working on it in November…but I think it's so fitting that the final chapter gets posted over Thanksgiving weekend. I am so thankful that you guys enjoy my stories! Your support means the world to me.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Please review!**


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